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Instagram buys Luma for its advanced video filters and stabilization tech

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

In another indication it's taking smartphone photography and videography seriously, Facebook-owned Instagram today bought a small Silicon Valley startup Luma, formerly known as Midnox.

The transaction represents Instagram's first acquisition since joining Facebook's fold in April 2012. The startup is behind Luma Camera, an iOS app designed to make it easy to record and share high-quality video.

This isn't your typical acqui-hire: Instagram is both after Luma's talented engineers and its advanced technology which makes possible real-time cinematic processing such as filters, effects and video stabilization. As you could imagine, the promising app got immediately pulled fom the App Store following the deal...

Join the pork side in Angry Birds Star Wars II clips starring Ian McDiarmid

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Angry Birds maker Rovio today posted two amusing videos pertaining to the upcoming Angry Birds Star Wars II, the first installment to its Star Wars-themed Angry Birds game that was released last November.

As a matter of fact, the company actually started teasing Angry Birds Star Wars II a little over two months ago and we know it's due for release on September 19.

Keeping it on the fun side, Rovio invites you to "join the Pork Side" and play as the piggies. That's right, Angry Birds Star Wars II will feature bird and pig versions. Exploring some of the more than thirty characters from the Star Wars universe to be featured in the game, these clips are voiced by actor Ian McDiarmid who played the legendary Emperor character in the Star Wars movies...

Apple and Samsung win bid to keep secret financial details

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2013

Apple and Samsung were both ordered to make public their profits and other financial details pertaining to their business, as part of last October's copyright infringement lawsuit that saw a US jury award Apple a billion dollar in damages over Samsung's patent infringement practices. Needless to say, both companies filed motions to keep sensitive data private.

Today, as Reuters reports, both technology titans won their respective bid to keep secret financial details. A federal US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC rebuked the trial judge who had previously ordered the financial information from both Apple and Samsung be made public...

Rdio gains station tuning, improved search and album art view

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Yesterday, the music streaming service Pandora announced plans to remove the 40-hour mobile listening cap come September 1 and released a minor update to its iOS and Android client to enable a handy sleep timer feature.

In a surprisingly brisk move, the rival Rdio service has now responded by issuing an update of its own, bringing with it three useful new features to the party.

First up, the application now has the station tuning feature where you adjust any station to "play more familiar or more adventurous" tracks. With iTunes Radio around the corner and the likes of Spotify and Pandora doubling-down on personalization and recommendation, this has got to be a much-needed improvement on Rdio's part.

But wait, there's more...

Apple seen testing new App Store ranking scheme based on user ratings

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

Ever since Apple in February 2012 bought Chomp, an app discovery engine, and subsequently killed both its Android and iOS apps, the rumor-mill has been abuzz with the supposed improvements to the App Store discovery stemming from the acqui-hire.

Disregarding the occasional tweaks to the App Store search algorithm here and there, the experience of discovering popular software beyond the apps Apple exposes on the main App Store pages remains a very tedious affair.

To put it perfectly bluntly, it often feels like finding a needle in the haystack. But according to a new report out Friday, things could soon improve as the company's apparently been experimenting with new algorithms for iTunes and App Store rankings...

DOJ: Apple used in-app purchases as club against Amazon

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The U.S. Department of Justice Friday tweaked its ebook settlement offer, including emails between Steve Jobs and Apple's marketing head. The revised settlement charges Apple altered its in-app purchasing policy "to retaliate against Amazon for competitive conduct that Apple disproved of."

The email exchange between Jobs and marketing chief Philip Schiller discussed how to counteract an Amazon commercial showing how the internet retailers app allowed ebooks to be read on either the iPad or the Kindle...

Android a frequent favorite in discount stores – until iPhone 5C arrives

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 23, 2013

Discount shoppers are more apt to buy an Android smartphone than an Apple iPhone. Indeed, Android handsets are three times as likely to be sold through discounters such as Walmart and Costco than Apple's smartphone, new research indicates. The numbers are just the latest from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), providing insight into where and by whom Apple and Android devices are purchased...

Apple’s next-gen Mac Pro ad hits YouTube ahead of Fall release

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2013

As Apple engineers scramble to finalize the next-generation Mac Pro for US-based assembly, the company's marketing department has been increasingly teasing and hyping the dream machine ahead of its Fall launch. Moviegoers who'd gone out to see the new Jobs biopic last weekend, or any other movie for that matter, spotted a Mac Pro video.

The clip, which later started airing in theaters nationwide, shows the radically new machine from various angles without revealing too much. Now that Apple has uploaded the commercial to YouTube, expect to see it rolling on television nationwide. I've queued up the video right after the fold...

Bloomberg: Apple’s slowing growth now worries case makers

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2013

People love to accessorize their mobile devices. Indeed, the multi-billion dollar industry for gadget accessories has been thriving for years now on the seemingly unstoppable popularity of Apple's mobile devices. The accessory industry had really started to take off a decade ago, after the iPod came out.

It boomed following the iPhone and iPod touch introduction in 2007, with tablets such as the iPad having become the latest lucrative market for case vendors out there. So, what do you do if you're an established case maker in Asia at a time when Apple's growth has been slowing?

As you fortunes are most certainly closely tied to Apple's, priorities change as you start giving more attention to non-Apple gadget makers, namely to Samsung but also to a bunch of local vendors who produce inexpensive smartphones and tablets...

Apple revamps Education mini-site

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2013

Slowly but surely, Apple has been revamping sub-section by sub-section of its website to bring the visual language, navigation and overall design in line with the flattened and cleaned up iOS 7 look and feel.

We've just received a word that Apple has redesigned the Apple and Education mini-site with a much simpler navigation and layout that revolves around larger teaser images and less text.

The mini-site strives to provide resources for teachers and parents about how Apple products can help them educate their kids...

Gold iPhone could pave way for Apple riches

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

All the chatter over whether a gold (or champagne) iPhone would be a good move on Apple's part has served to highlight a glaring gap in our global knowledge.

What started out last week as a report on the economic value of a golden iPhone, quickly morphed into suggestions that gold was a preferred color in China - even a 'lucky' color for consumers there. Now comes the coup de grâce of the color debate: a comparison of auto tints...

CEO Steve Ballmer will retire within 12 months, Microsoft confirms

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

I bet you haven't seen this coming. Microsoft's controversial and enthusiastic chief executive officer Steve Ballmer will retire within the next twelve months, the company said in a media release.

The company cunningly chose Friday to break the unexpected news so investors have the time to chew on the development over the weekend.

The Windows giant said Ballmer will retire as CEO upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. In the meantime, Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft "through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most"...